“Stone Cold” Steve Austin made a triumphant return to the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) stage at WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas on Saturday (April 2). The legendary wrestler, whose last official WWE match was 19 years ago against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania, entered the arena on a camouflage 4-wheeler to the thunderous applause of an ecstatic crowd.
He then wrestled against Kevin Owens, where he took the win after about 20 minutes with his signature move, “The Stunner.” Afterwards, Steve, 57, told the crowd, “It’s good to be back here in Dallas, Texas, and that’s the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so.”
Last month, Steve teased his appearance at the fan-favorite event after accepting a challenge from Owens, who called Steve out on his The KO Show. “Nineteen years ago, I wrestled my last match in a WWE ring,” Steve said in a video posted on Twitter. “After three Rock Bottoms, one-two-three, I lost the match. And for 19 years, I’ve had to live with that defeat knowing my time is up.”
“Kevin Owens, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for waking something up deep inside me that I’ve kept buried for 19 years,” he continued. “Ever since you started running that mealy-mouth of yours, talking about the great state of Texas, you got my attention.”
Headed to Dallas, TX for #wrestlemania 38. Bringing One Last Can of Whoop Ass. See u there @FightOwensFight. And that’s the bottom line. RT @WWE: OH HELL YEAH!@SteveAustinBSR has accepted @FightOwensFight's #WrestleMania 38 invitation! pic.twitter.com/pzAZXiiMYV
— Steve Austin (@steveaustinBSR) March 8, 2022
Although he officially retired from the wrestling ring, Steve — considered one of the greatest in his sport — consistently gave his fans some “Texas Rattlesnake” love with appearances on WWE shows. He also kept his name on people’s lips with hilarious The Steve Austin Show podcast and the short-lived USA reality show, Straight Up Steve Austin.
It’s obvious Steve is loving being back in the spotlight, as he dished about it to People last year. “I retired in 2003. So for people to remember things as vividly now, as they did then, or even more so…” he said. “I’m just super appreciative of my fan base, and I can’t believe it’s still going on, but I dig it.”